A Hidden Gem in Encinitas

On June 17th, I had the pleasure of teaching at The Center for Creative Renewal in Encinitas, CA.  The owner, Ellen Speert, is an art therapist and has owned the three acre property for over forty years. From the street, you would never know what lies beyond the gate to her back garden. She and her partner have lovingly created an amazingly beautiful environment that is filled with art and includes a building for her art therapy, complete with a deck that looks out over the mountains. In addition, there is an outdoor deck for art classes as well as a new yoga deck. Ellen teaches classes herself, leads art therapy groups, and hosts visiting artists several times a year. You can visit her website at www.artretreats.com for more information and to see all of her classes and events. Taking a class here offers so much more than just the content of the class. The location is spectacular.

The class Ellen and I chose was Mosaic Mandalas, one of my current obsessions. The word mandala means circle, and represents wholeness and divine harmony.  It was the perfect project. Students created the mandalas on Wedi board, making them waterproof and suitable for hanging in a garden environment. I brought a huge selection of my own handmade tiles to offer as focal points as well as to radiate from the center. As you can see from the photos, everyone’s interpretation of the project was their own unique vision. The results were beautiful. Thanks to all of you for coming!

If you would like to create a mandala in Ellen’s beautiful garden, I will be teaching this class again in April of 2018.

Megan Hoopes with her piece incorporating my handmade tiles in a paisley design.

Rosemary Stark with her beautiful piece incorporating a center medallion and radiating “leaf tiles”.

Carol Denenberg with her piece primarily all in blues using only glass.

A unique piece that I do not remember the name of its creator. It is so beautiful and creative. Let me know if you were in the class and can identify who made this one.

A beautifully planned and executed piece with complimentary colors created by Gail Gerbie.

The lovely yellows in this piece by Mary Beth Casement are so happy. And Mary Beth learned how to add glass rods vertically in the center.

Love the blues and purples Ellen Speert chose. The pink and aqua add a nice contrast.

The chartreuse green tiles in Susan Pierce’s piece are my absolute favorite.I just love that color. She ended up changing this from black to white grout. That was beautiful as well.